After igniting a rivalry on The Ultimate Fighter Brazil, Rodrigo Damm finished things with Anistavio “Gasparzinho” Medeiros in rapid fire fashion at the Mineirinho Arena in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, submitting “Gasparzinho” in the first round of UFC 147 preliminary card action Saturday night.

After a slow start, a left followed by a right staggered and dropped Medeiros. Damm then went to work, taking his foe’s back and sinking in the rear naked choke that finished matters at the 2:12 mark.

Damm improves to 10-5 with the win; Medeiros falls to 15-8.

HELENO vs. TRINALDO

Francisco “Massaranduba” Trinaldo tore through veteran Delson “Pe De Chumbo” in their middleweight bout, ending matters in less than a round.

Trinaldo jarred Heleno with several shots early on, forcing the 29-fight veteran to go all out in search of a takedown. Trinaldo wasn’t having it though, with his defense putting Heleno in desperation mode. In the final minute, “Massaranduba” unleashed vicious strikes on his grounded foe, bringing referee Herb Dean in to stop the fight at 4:21 of the first round.

Despite coming in at 150 pounds for his featherweight bout with Hugo Viana, John “Macapa” Teixeira lost his unbeaten record and the fight via split decision to the scrappy “Wolverine.”

Scores were 29-28 twice and 28-29 for Viana, 6-1, who is expected to move to bantamweight for his next fight.

The initial exchanges between the two TUF Brazil castmates were fast and furious, with Viana landing his share of shots, but Teixeira (13-1-1) having more heat on his fastball. “Wolverine” utilized his speed to equalize things though, and he was able to cut his foe on the right eyebrow as he piled up the points.

A hard kick to the face by Teixeira started off the second round, and a follow-up clinch definitely seemed to favor “Macapa,” with a takedown also adding to his point tally. Following a clinch against the fence that turned into a stalemate and a restart from referee Marc Goddard, Viana began throwing wild hooks again, but you could see fatigue setting in. Teixeira took advantage with more compact shots as the clock wound down.

Despite his rapidly depleting gas tank, Viana kept swinging for the fences, and while he wasn’t as busy as he was early in the fight, he was busier than Teixeira, who looked to impose his size and strength on his opponent against the fence. Viana was able to avoid the first takedown attempt, but he briefly hit the deck the second time around before getting back to his feet for the final seconds of the fight.

Wild swinging but heavy-handed, Mafra had no hesitation in reeling off haymakers from the time the opening bell rang. Perpetuo’s attack was more conventional and methodical, but the end result was both fighters walking back to their corners a bit banged up – “Macarrao” with a cut under his right eye, and “Bodao” with a mouse under his.

A takedown attempt by Perpetuo almost ended up in disaster as Mafra rolled through and tried to lock up his arm. Perpetuo got loose to fire off hard elbows from the top position, while Mafra still had his heart set on the armbar. As the round progressed though, Perpetuo’s ground and pound ruled, as he wouldn’t allow Mafra to get back to his feet.

In the third, Mafra went about his business as if the second round never happened, but after Perpetuo nailed him with a right hand and sent him to the canvas, it was game over, as a series of unanswered strikes brought in referee Mario Yamasaki to stop the fight 41 seconds into the final stanza.

In a clash of TUF Brazil featherweights, Marcos Vinicius “Vina” improved to 20-4-1 with a third round TKO of Wagner “Galeto” Campos.

Campos (11-4) was the aggressor as the bout began, with Vinicius eventually warming up and beginning his own offensive attack. Neither was landing clean though, with the first significant action being a trip takedown by Campos as the second half of the round got underway. Seconds later, Campos got the mount and appeared to be on the verge of finishing things with a choke, but he gave it up and went back to work. Vinicius scored well with some strikes from his back, getting a roar from the crowd before the end of the round.

A flying knee attempt by Vinicius in the second minute of the second round almost cost him big as he got caught with a counterpunch and was then put on his back. Campos worked on Vinicius’ arm from the side, using periodic strikes to force his foe into a mistake. Vinicius was able to get out of trouble, but he still remained on his back. That wasn’t a death sentence though, as he cut Campos over the left eye and landed an up kick from that position, forcing the fight into the third round.

In the final frame, Vinicius poured it on, cracking Campos with two knees to the body and then a right hand to the head. Hurt, Campos sagged to the fence, and Vinicius forced a stoppage from referee Herb Dean seconds later at the 1:04 mark after an unanswered barrage of strikes.

Featherweight up and comer Felipe Arantes and veteran newcomer Milton Vieira battled to a three round draw in the UFC 147 opener.

Scores were 29-28 Arantes, 29-28 Vieira and 28-28.

Vieira (13-7-2) was sharp with his right hand in the early stages of the bout, and when Arantes responded with one of his own, the veteran used the opportunity to take his foe to the mat. With less than two and a half minutes remaining, Vieira got into side control, but Arantes was able to get out of immediate danger, even though “Miltinho” still controlled matters with ground and pound from inside the guard.

Arantes (14-4-1, 2 NC) opened up his attack in the second round, trying to catch his opponent wth some flashy kicks from long range. Vieira was biding his time for another takedown, but the Sao Paulo prospect rejected both of his second round attempts. Vieira found success in another way though, with a spinning wheel kick sending Arantes sprawling into the fence. “Sertanejo” recovered quickly though, tying Vieira up and taking him to the mat just before the bell.

The jab and leg kicks of Arantes continued to be solid weapons in round three, and he also got a rise from the crowd with a switch kick followed by a punch combination to the face. A subsequent Vieira takedown attempt came up short, with Arantes taking the dominant position on the mat. With Vieira looking for something to develop from his back, Arantes held on and got a restart from referee Marc Goddard, allowing him to finish the bout on his feet.